Such a scanning device and such a method relate to EP 1 178 878 B1 or from DE 196 04 254. In the grant procedure, the opposition procedure or the nullity procedure relating to these two protective rights, a great number of additional documents referring to similar scanning devices and methods have been cited, in particular JP 1132333 A or JP 7184534 A.
These conventional scanning devices serve to detect the outer contour of an object. Said object may be, in particular, a food product that is to be cut into constant-weight portions or slices. Distributed over the length of the object, a great number of contours is detected wherefrom a volume model of the object, i.e. a three-dimensional model of the object, can be subsequently calculated. If the weight force of the object is additionally measured, an average density of the product can be calculated from the weight and the overall volume, and on the basis thereof, taking into account the outer contour, cutting positions for constant-weight slices can be calculated.
In prior art, the peripheral contour of the object is often detected by means of the so-called light section technique. For this purpose, in the above-cited documents a line of laser light is projected onto the product by means of one or a plurality of overlapping line lasers. This linear projection of the laser light is imaged by means of a camera. From the course and the location of the light line on the object, the course of the respective surface contour can be derived.
Cutting machines for cutting up food products, so-called slicers, are for example known from the following documents: DE 3713536 A1, DE 3923337 A1, DE 4413568 C5, DE 10054514 A1, DE 10131701 A1, DE 19604254 B4, DE 10327249 A1, DE 19525741 A1, DE 19713163 A1, De 19839257 A1, DE 19844436 C2, and DE 102009023729 A1.
Some of these cutting machines already use scanning devices to detect the outer contour of the food products to be cut up. Frequently, the object of this contour detection is to cut up slices or portions of the product as constant as possible in weight.
Apart from the area of food processing, scanning devices for the detection of the contour or of the 3D coordinates of objects are also known. Thus, DE 10 2008 047 816 A1 describes a device for detecting the 3D coordinates of teeth or tooth models. This device, however, has among other problems the drawback that the scanner used therein must be guided around the whole object in order to obtain a sufficient number of data for the representation of the object. US 2007/0177160 A1 discloses a further device for obtaining 3D coordinates of an object, in particular a book. US 2010/0008588 A1 aims at the 3D localization of certain structures on objects, and not at the 3D detection of these objects themselves. Finally, US 2010/0007896 A1 discloses an apparatus for measuring, in particular, the height of electronic components.